scroll

The word “scroll” means a roll of paper or parchment, especially one containing writing. In plain terms, a rolled document, or (much more commonly today) the act of moving through content on a screen.

“Scroll” is pronounced skrohl (/skɹoʊl/ in IPA).

Here is “scroll” used in a sentence: “The ancient scroll was carefully unrolled by the museum curator.”

Depending on how it is used, “scroll” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “scroll” comes from Old French. From Old French escroe ("strip of parchment"), from a Frankish word meaning "a shred" — the same root that gives us "shred" and "escrow.".

“Scroll” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the C2 level.

“Scroll” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a roll of paper or parchment, especially one containing writing.

A scroll (noun) is a roll of paper or parchment containing writing, while "scrolling" (verb) describes the digital action of moving text or images on a screen to view more content. The digital sense borrows the visual idea of unrolling continuous content from the physical object.

Doomscrolling draws on the informal sense of scroll: browsing social media or news aimlessly and compulsively for long stretches of time, often consuming negative content. It combines "scroll" with "doom" to emphasize the draining, repetitive nature of the habit.

"Scroll down" means moving content in one direction, typically toward the bottom of a page, while "scroll through" means browsing a longer stretch of content more generally, often without a fixed direction in mind. Both use the verb sense of scroll referring to moving content on a screen.